REDISCOVERING THE PRIORITY

Genesis chapter 1










Today we are walking in: Rediscovering The Priority













Today we look to the word-FIRST-H7218 ro'sh --top, upper part, chief, front, beginning; chief, choicest, best










The Torah Testifies.............................








Exodus 12:2




This month shall be unto you the beginning H7218 of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.










The prophets proclaim...............





Isaiah 41:4




Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? H7218 I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.









The writings bear witness.............




1 Chronicles 26:10




Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons; Simri the chief, H7218 (for though he was not the firstborn, yet his father made him the chief;) H7218







The Priority of the Kingdom




Rediscovering the Priority




The greatest secret to living effectively on earth is understanding the principle and power of priorities. Life on earth holds no greater challenge than the complicating daily demand of choosing among competing alternatives for our limited time. Our life is the sum total of all the decisions we make every day, and those decisions are determined by our priorities. How we use our time every day eventually defines our lives. Life was designed to be simple, not complicated, and the key to simplifying life is prioritization. Identifying the correct and right priority of life is the key to a successful and fulfilled life. So then, what is the principle and concept of priority?




Priority is defined as:




The principal thing.




Putting first things first.




Establishing the most important thing.




Primary focus.




Placing in order of importance.




Placing highest value and worth upon.




First among all others.




If our priorities determine the quality of life and dictate all of our actions and behavior, then it is essential that we understand and identify our priorities. The greatest tragedy in life is not death but life without a purpose—life with the wrong priorities. Life’s greatest challenge is in knowing what to do. The greatest mistake in life is to be busy but not effective. Life’s greatest failure is to be successful in the wrong assignment. Success in life is measured by the effective use of one’s time.




Time is the true measure of life. In fact, time is the currency of life. How you spend your time determines the quality of your life and death. You become whatever you buy with your time. Always be aware that everything and everyone around you is vying for your time. Your time is important because your time is your life. And the key to effective use of your time is establishing correct priorities. First things first!




When your priorities are correct, you preserve and protect your life. Correct priority is the principle of progress because when you establish your priority according to your purpose and goals then your progress is guaranteed. Correct priority protects your time. When you set the right priorities, then you use your time for intentional purposes; your time is not abused or wasted. Correct priority protects your energy. Correct priority protects your talents and gifts. Correct priority protects your decisions. Correct priority protects your discipline. Correct priority simplifies your life.




Failure to establish correct priority causes you to waste your two most important commodities: your time and your energy. When your priorities are not correct, you will find yourself busy with the wrong things, majoring on the minor, doing the unnecessary, or becoming preoccupied with the unimportant. Incorrect priorities in your life will cause you to invest in the less valuable, engage in ineffective activity, and abuse your gifts and talents. Ultimately, it will cause you to forfeit purpose, which results in failure.




Why is this principle of priority so important to our discussion of the Kingdom? Because if priority is the essence of life, then we should want to know what our priority in life should be so that we can live effectively. It may surprise you to know that most of the people in the world are driven by incorrect priorities that occupy and control their entire lives. What are these priorities that master most of the human race?




The answer is perhaps found the in the work of behavioral scientist and psychologist Abraham Maslow who, after studying the motivations of human behavior, concluded that all human behavior is driven by the same basic “hierarchy of needs”:




1. Water.




2. Food.




3. Clothes.




4. Housing.




5. Protection.




6. Security.




7. Preservation.




8. Self-actualization.




9. Significance.




It is important to note that Maslow listed these motivational needs in order of priority. Perhaps if we are honest, we would agree that the human rat race does indeed strive for all of these things. We go to work every day, and some even hold down two or more jobs, just to secure water, food, clothing, housing, and protection. What a tragedy, to think that the basic priority driving most humans is that of simple survival!




Would it surprise you to learn that most religions are built around the promise to meet these very same needs as a priority? Meeting human needs is the premise of all religions. One common denominator of all religions is the effort to please or appease some deity in order to secure basic needs such as a good harvest, favorable weather, and protection from enemies, etc. Another factor that all religions have in common is that their primary focus is on the needs of the worshiper. Priority in religious prayers and petitions is for personal needs. Human needs drive religion. Much of what we call “faith” is nothing more than striving for the very things on Maslow’s list.




The Priority of Yah




Yah established His priority at the beginning of creation and made it clear by His own declaration to mankind. Yahusha Hamachiach came to earth and reestablished Yah’s number-one priority. Should it surprise us to discover that Yah’s priority for mankind is completely opposite to man’s priorities? Let us read Yah’s priority for mankind as stated by the Most High Yahusha. During His first discourse introducing His mission and primary message, Yahusha established Yah’s priority for all mankind with several powerful and straightforward statements:




Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? (Matthew 6:25).




Notice that this statement directly challenges Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and contradicts its order. Yahusha’ statement also exposes man’s defective priority and confirms our preoccupation with the less important. His admonition to us not to worry implies that these basic needs for maintenance should not be the primary motivator for human action. The word worry means to consume in thought, to establish as our first interest, mental preoccupation, priority concern, fretting, fear of the unknown, and to rehearse the future over which we have no control.




Continuing on, Yahusha says:




Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matthew 6:26-27).




This statement implies that our self-worth is more important than our basic needs and should never be sacrificed for the sake of those needs.




And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how Yah clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? (Matthew 6:28-30).




The thrust of these verses is that our confidence in our Creator’s obligation and commitment to sustain His creation should lead us to transfer our priority from our basic human needs to the priority of cultivating and maintaining a healthy relationship with His Kingdom and with Himself.




So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them (Matthew 6:31-32).




The word “pagans” here implies that religion should not be motivated by the base drives of human needs for food, water, clothing, shelter, and the like.




But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33, emphasis added).




Here Yahusha states Yah’s number-one priority: Seek first His Kingdom.




This is the most important statement made by the Most High Yahusha, and it establishes what should be the first priority in our lives. Yahusha identifies the Kingdom as being more important than food, water, clothing, shelter, and every other basic human need. According to His assessment, then, what should be mankind’s priority and primary preoccupation in life? The Kingdom of Yah. Yah’s number-one priority for mankind is that we discover, understand, and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It is this priority that motivated me to bring this series. The priority of all human beings is concealed in the words, “Seek first the kingdom of Yah and His righteousness, and everything you need for life will be added to you.”




This declaration by Yahusha also suggests that there must be something about the Kingdom that all of mankind has missed and misunderstood. If everything we pursue and strive for to live and survive are found in the Kingdom, then we have been misguided and perhaps have imposed on ourselves unnecessary hardship, stress, and frustration.




Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34).




Yah’s Priority Assignment for Mankind




For the last 35 years this simple mandate laid down by Yahusha Hamachiach has been my life’s mission. And it continues to regulate my life decisions today. The benefits that have come from this commitment have been beyond my expectations, which is one reason why I am wholeheartedly committed to assisting you in understanding this wonderful reality of Kingdom living. Below I have laid out the practical process of fulfilling this mandate so that you can see clearly that this is one priority we must reorder.




Our first instruction from Yahusha is to seek. This means to pursue, study, explore, understand, learn, and consider. Seekers must have a desire to know, and possess a passion for the object of their search. To seek means to give diligent dedication to and to preoccupy one’s self with that which one is seeking. The Kingdom must be pursued, studied, understood, and learned.




Second, Yahusha tells us to make the Kingdom First. In other words, the Kingdom must be our top priority, the principal thing to place before all others as most important. We must place the highest value on the Kingdom of Yah, setting it above everything as our primary focus. The Kingdom must be placed above everything else and should have no competition. It must be our highest priority.




Yahusha then instructs us to seek first the Kingdom. This is the most important aspect of the mandate and must be carefully considered. First, it is important to understand that because a kingdom is not a religion, the priority of mankind should not be to seek a religion or some form of ritual. The word for “kingdom” in this verse is basileia (NT: 923), the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew mamlakah (OT: 4467), translated in Genesis 1:26 as “dominion.” Both words mean dominion, sovereign rule, kingdom, reign, or royal power. In this series, we will focus on this concept in detail because it should be our priority and because it is generally an unknown or misunderstood concept in most modern cultures.




In practical terms, a kingdom may be defined as “the sovereign rule of a king over territory (domain), impacting it with his will, purpose, and intent.” In this biblical text, the word “kingdom” as used by Yahusha refers to Yah’s government, Yah’s rulership, Yah’s dominion over the earth. The Kingdom of Yah means Yah’s will executed, Yahs’ jurisdiction, Heaven’s influence, Yah’s administration, and Yah’s impact and influence.




In this series, we will use the following working definition:




A kingdom is...




The governing influence of a king over his territory, impacting it with his personal will, purpose, and intent, producing a culture, values, morals, and lifestyle that reflect the king’s desires and nature for his citizens.




Yahusha’ final instruction to us in this verse is to seek also the righteousness of the Kingdom. This is another vitally important concept that has been diluted in the waters of religion and must be recovered if we are to understand the Kingdom and experience the abundant life all humans deserve. The word righteousness is actually from the discipline of law, not religion, and implies right positioning. To be righteous means to be in alignment with authority, to be in right standing with authority, to have correct fellowship with authority, to be in right relationship with authority, to be in legal or lawful alignment, and to be in correct standing with the law or regulations (principles) of and to fulfill the requirements of authority.




In essence, righteousness describes the maintenance of the rightly aligned relationship with a governing authority so as to qualify for the right to receive governmental privileges. This is why Yahusha emphasizes the Kingdom and the need to be righteous so that you can receive “all things added unto you.” This promise includes all your physical needs, all your social needs, all your emotional needs, all your psychological needs, all your financial needs, and all your security needs, as well as your need for self significance and a sense of self-worth and purpose.




Therefore, as we have seen above, Yah established only two priorities for mankind:the Kingdom of Yah and the righteousness of Yah. Kingdom refers to the governing influence of Heaven on earth and righteousness refers to right alignment and positioning with that government authority. Our highest priorities and greatest desires should be to enter the Kingdom of Yah and thirst for a right relationship with Yah’s heavenly government.




But seek first the kingdom of Yah and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew 6:33 NKJV, emphasis added).




Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Matthew 5:6, emphasis added).




The Concept of Kingdom




The concept of “kingdom” was not invented by mankind but was the first form of government introduced by the Creator. This concept appears first in the Book of Genesis at the creation of man. Man’s original assignment from Yah was a Kingdom assignment: “Let them have dominion over...the earth.” Yah’s plan for man was to extend His heavenly Kingdom (government) to the earth through the principle of colonization. Man’s assignment was to establish the influence and culture of heaven on earth by representing the nature, values, and morality of Yah in the earth. In this way, Yah’s heavenly rule would manifest itself on earth through His extended image in mankind. This was the first Kingdom: Yah, the King, extending His heavenly Kingdom to earth through His offspring, man. This is the wonderful story and message of the Bible—not a religion, but a royal family.




Ever since the Fall of man, he has tried to imitate this concept of kingdom; but throughout history, man’s every attempt to establish a heavenly kingdom on earth has failed. This is why religious governments always fail, whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or any other form. It is for this reason that Yah Himself had to come to earth to bring the heavenly Kingdom back to this planet. The earth cannot give rise to the Kingdom of Heaven independently; the Kingdomof heaven must issue forth from heaven. Man lost a kingdom, and a kingdom is what he is looking for. Yahusha came to bring the Kingdom of Heaven back to the earth, not to establish a religion. And mankind seeks not a religion but the Kingdom we lost so long ago. This is why religion cannot satisfy or fulfill man’s spirit. The Kingdom of Heaven has top priority by virtue of its role in the original purpose of man’s creation. As such, the Kingdom was the first form of government on earth.




Loss of a Concept




The kingdom concept as a whole has been lost to contemporary human culture, especially in the Western world. In his attempt to create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, man has opted to design his own forms of government. But his experiments continue to fail: evil kingdoms, empires, dictators, communism, socialism, democracy...and the list goes on. The desire for righteous government burns in the heart of every human. All of us are seeking the Kingdom even if we all don’t realize it.




Many historical kingdoms of the past contained several components that resemble the Kingdom of Yah and can be beneficial to us when studied. This experience has made it easier for me to understand the Bible because it is a book about a King and a Kingdom.




My goal in this present writing is to reintroduce the concept of the Kingdom to a world that has lost it. Most people alive today have never had any contact or relations with a kingdom. Consequently, ignorance of the kingdom concept makes it difficult to understand fully the message of the Bible. In the teachings that follow, I will unveil many of the unique concepts and components of a kingdom that will help you immediately understand the words, claims, promises, and methods of Yah as well as the life and message of Yahusha.




According to Yahusha, the most important priority and preoccupation of all mankind should be the seeking and studying of the heavenly Kingdom government and administration of the Creator Yah and His purposed plan and program to impact earth. But in a practical sense, how does one go about seeking this Kingdom? How does one explore the concept, nature, function, program, components, principles, and power of the Kingdom? Answering these questions is the purpose and intent of this series. To accomplish this purpose we must:




Understand kingdom concept.




Understand kingdom philosophy.




Understand kingdom government.




Understand kingdom law.




Understand kingdom culture.




Understand kingdom society.




Understand kingdom economy.




Understand kingdom citizenship.




Understand kingdom provision.




Understand kingdom worship.




Understand kingdom protocol.




Understand kingdom representation.





The secret to a full and fulfilled life is discovery, understanding, and application of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Religion postpones the Kingdom to a future experience. But you must remember that you cannot appropriate what you postpone. Yah’s desire for you is that you enter the Kingdom life now and experience, explore, apply, practice, and enjoy living with the benefits, promises, and privileges of Heaven on earth. Let the adventure begin!




Principles




1. The greatest secret to living effectively on earth is understanding the principle and power of priorities.




2. The greatest tragedy in life is not death, but life without a purpose—life with the wrong priorities.




3. Our self-worth is more important than our basic needs and should never be sacrificed for the sake of those needs.




4. Yah’s number-one priority for mankind is that we discover, understand, and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.




5. A kingdom is the governing influence of a king over his territory, impacting it with his personal will, purpose and intent, producing a culture, values, morals, and lifestyle that reflect the king’s desires and nature for his citizens.




6. Yah established only two priorities for mankind: the Kingdom of Yah and the righteousness of Yah.




7. The concept of “kingdom” was not invented by mankind but was the first form of government introduced by the Creator.




8. Ignorance of the kingdom concept makes it difficult to understand fully the message of the Bible.